Murray and Bruins on target before sparse crowd at Fleet

[ Game summary ]

By Kevin Paul Dupont, Globe Staff, 11/22/2002

f they actually have a shot at the Cup, and week to week it looks as if they do, then it will be nights like last night on Causeway Street that will get them there.

Strong and steady on defense, and still packed with enough scoring pop despite a M*A*S*H unit's worth of significant injuries, the Bruins chewed through the tough Carolina Hurricanes, 3-1, led by the ever-improving scoring combination of Glen Murray (two goals) and Joe Thornton (two assists).

The victory, their 12th in 19 games, ended the Bruins' mini-winless streak at two games (0-1-1) and kept them atop the Eastern Conference standings.

''I think other teams, and people around the league now are saying Boston's for real,'' said Murray, who registered career goals Nos. 200 and 201, on a game-high six shots. ''They've got to be thinking, `They're not letting up.'''

Meanwhile, no one knows what the Boston consumer is thinking. The crowd of 10,667 was the second lowest this season, and the second lowest all-time for hockey at the Fleet. The Hub's interest in NHL hockey, if measured by seats kept warm, is at its lowest ebb since the late-'50s and early-'60s. In most of those years, the Bruins were perennial punching bags. Now they're playing like heavyweights, but few are lining up to see them. The Bruins don't release turnstile counts, but there had to be a 15 percent to 20 percent no-show factor last night, leaving perhaps as few as 8,500 in attendance - about 50 percent capacity.

Just when it looked as if their offense might be headed to a troubling hibernation, after going slightly more than 120 minutes without a goal, the Bruins got it going in the second when Murray erased a 1-0 lead with his first of the night and Brian Rolston chipped in with his second shorthanded goal of the season. Murray then added his second in the third period to ice it.

In the span of two weeks, the Bruins have taken a point out of Detroit and slapped down the mighty 'Canes, for 3 of 4 points against last season's Cup finalists. They also chiseled a tough point out of the stingy Flyers over the weekend in Philadelphia.

''Obviously, you want to play the top teams hard,'' said Thornton, who set up Murray's first goal by winning a draw, pulling the puck back on his backhand for a mighty Murray one-timer. ''We seem to be doing that very well this year. Sometimes we've taken some of the lesser teams for granted, and then we've gotten ourselves in trouble. But Carolina's a good team, and we handled 'em.''

It took the 'Canes 10 minutes to land their first shot on John Grahame, who knocked away 23 of 24 shots en route to his fourth win. Despite their slow-to-warm offense, they did manage to take a 1-0 lead less than three minutes later when onetime Bruins draft pick Kevyn Adams nailed home a slapper from the circle to Grahame's left. Andy Hilbert, called up earlier in the day to patch over some of the extensive injuries, errantly passed his stick over the puck near the faceoff dot and a quick-thinking Adams struck with a turnaround slapper that ripped by a stunned Grahame.

Murray evened the score with 8:45 gone in the second. Then with 2:18 to go in the middle period, the speedy Rolston cracked the blue line on right wing, shifted to the slot, and connected from the left circle after seeing his first attempt, a 30-footer, ricochet back to him off a Carolina defender.

''That was huge,'' said Thornton.

No bigger, though, than Boston's penalty-killing effectiveness late in the second and the start of the third, after the 'Canes took charge of a 5-on-3 power play for 84 seconds - Hal Gill first went off for elbowing and then Bryan Berard for cross-checking.

Lacking the required zip and accuracy with their passes as the Bruins fell into a three-man triangle kill, the 'Canes not only failed to score, they barely mounted a threat. The key to the 2 points was Boston being able to kill the 84 seconds nearly with the ease of waiting in line at the deli counter.

''We played well,'' said coach Robbie Ftorek. ''We worked hard. The guys were doing their job in the defensive end.''

Adding to his game log, rookie Shaone Morrisonn, who made his NHL debut two nights before in Toronto, put in a steady 11:56, only about two minutes fewer than veteran Don Sweeney. Rookies Lee Goren and Hilbert, called up late in the morning after the day-of-game workout, filled out a line with another ex-Baby B, Ivan Huml. No matter who goes out, or who comes in, they keep up the pace, and look destined to crack the 100-point plateau for a second straight season.

''We don't emphasize it, but I know the players know it,'' said Ftorek, asked if his club recognized or underscored the value of rubbing out last year's Cup finalist. ''It's nice ... but we are thinking Buffalo right now.''

The Sabres, winless in 12, come to the Vault tomorrow night. The season rolls on, the points are put away. But is anyone watching?

This story ran on page D1 of the Boston Globe on 11/22/2002.
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